A Genius and The Girl of His Dreams
by poisonlacecookies
Summary: Spencer and Natalie were inseparable at eighteen, but when he left for Washington and the FBI they lost touch. A few years later Natalie comes to the BAU complaining of a stalker. Can they ever be more than just friends? Can they make it work? Fluff
1. A Dream and The Girl

**I do not own Criminal Minds nor it's characters. I make no money from this. Please do review and tell me what you think about it and if you think I should continue this.**

Chapter One: The Dream and The Girl

An eighteen year old Spencer Reid sat on his front porch staring at the eighteen year old girl sitting next to him staring off into space. She was more than likely daydreaming.

His mother had finally fallen asleep an hour ago. Sleep had become so rare for her lately considering she always seemed to be up these days.

She was always sitting at her desk up in her room. She was constantly busy writing page after page of lectures and notes. She claimed she needed these writings for her lectures. Which was impossible considering she hadn't taught a class in more than ten years.

He was secretly dreading tomorrow. He'd already called the hospital and had everything set up so his mother could be taken away too Bennington.

Even though he knew this was what was best for her he still felt like he was the worst son in the history of all sons. It had too be done though.

He couldn't let his mother live this way and longer. It was becoming so hard to take care of her lately. Her delusions were getting worst and some days she wouldn't even talk at all. She'd just sit there staring down at her notebook not even bothering to eat or bathe.

He looked up when the girl finally spoke up glancing over at him "So your really going to Washington huh?"

He sighed nodding his head "Yeah I mean Natalie what else am I going to do. I already finished earing all my Ph d's and I really can't stay here forever. I just don't think there is anything for me here. Well except for maybe a teaching job or something like that. I'm just not cut out for that type of work though."

She sighed as she ran her hand through her light brown hair. She gave him a questioning look as she turned to face him "What do you think your going to do there? Are you still thinking about joining the FBI?"

"If I do join the FBI then I'll have to go through training to get in. I was thinking about possibly trying too get into the BAU. Ethan's said that he's going to go with me." He stated staring over at her.

She nodded grateful that someone they knew was going with him. At least he wouldn't be alone.

She knew he didn't do well in social situations he never had. A small part of her wished that she could go with him, but she had already been accepted to a local university. She knew she couldn't turn the opportunity down.

They had known each other for what seemed like forever now. She could remember the exact day they'd met. They had only been twelve years old and her family had moved in next door to the Reids.

When she had seen him the first time he was sitting all alone on his front porch reading a book. They had made eye contact but when she was about to make her way towards the porch he'd been called inside by what sounded like his mother.

She'd hadn't seen him again until she'd gone over to the high school to be walked home by her older brother. At first she'd been confused wondering how this neighbor of hers was already in high school. After all wasn't he just a kid? So her being naturally curious had asked him just that question the next day when she'd seen him on his front porch.

Spencer had told her why he was in high school at twelve. Though he was nervous to have to explain it. Most people had negative reactions when he told him about his IQ and everything else, but she'd just nodded her head seeming to understand and accept it all.

Ever since then they'd been inseparable, but here he was now leaving her behind.

He widened his eyes when she embraced him in a tight hug before speaking up in a whisper "I'm going to miss you so much Spencer"

He nodded his head knowing she wouldn't be the only one missing someone.

--

A twenty five year old Dr. Spencer Reid awoke to the sound of his alarm clock going off. He rolled his eyes slightly why did he have to have that dream again?

This had been the forth night in a row he'd dreamed about Natalie Donovan and the conversation they'd had the week before he left Las Vegas. The night before he'd had his mother admitted.

He could admit even though it had been eight years he still missed her just like it was yesterday. Sure they'd written each other for the first two years that they'd been apart, but after a while they had just gotten so busy with their own lives that he guessed neither one of them had time to really write or call each other.

He sometimes wondered what would have happened if she'd come to Washington with him. Though they hadn't been a couple he'd always had an overwhelmingly strong crush on her.

He'd sometimes thought she'd felt the same way. After all she'd taken him to her senior prom and she'd even kissed him when the night was over, but nothing serious had ever come out of it.

He frowned as he got out of his empty bed trying hard to shake thoughts of Natalie Donovan out of his head. It was way too late to change anything now so why think about it?

He managed to get dressed and somehow make through all the traffic before he arrived at the BAU. He'd been working here since he was twenty two and though the job was hard he'd never change professions.

He made it over to his desk after getting his usual cup of sugar and coffee before he managed to sit down. He rolled his eyes slightly when Morgan spoke up grinning "Reid you should have gone out with all of us last night. There were a few girls there that would have loved to meet you."

"I had a headache last night sorry". Spencer stated knowing that that was the easiest way to get out of a long lecture from Morgan about how he should get out and meet people away from work. He really didn't get why the people he worked with were all so interested in his love life or lack there of.

Luckily Morgan hadn't had a chance to say anything else since JJ came downstairs sighing "We have a case."

Spencer, Morgan, and Prentiss all made it up too the conference room where Gideon and Hotch were already sitting staring down at case files.

They took their seats before JJ spoke up "I know that stalking cases usually go to the police until it turns into something more serious like a homicide but this women came to me first thing this morning. She's really frightened and scared for her life. She doesn't know what to do and she says she has no one else to go to. I told her we'd at least take a look at her case."

Gideon spoke up sighing "Is this girl here so we can hear from her ourselves?"

JJ nodded "Yeah she's in my office let me go get her."

It didn't take long for JJ to come back with a women whom was staring down at her shoes as she walked. It was almost as though she was too upset to look anyone in the eyes.

The sight of this young women standing in front of the round table automatically made Spencer frown slightly. She looked remarkably familiar.

He widened his eyes when JJ spoke up "This is Natalie Donovan. Miss Donovan do you think you can you tell these people what you told me?"

Spencer stared at her when she looked up. She was still avoiding looking at anyone at the table. She was staring straight at the wall behind them.

She still looked the same. She was short with light ivy green eyes, and a thin almost frail looking body. The only thing that was slightly different about her was her hair. It was no longer a long light brown it had been dyed a crimson red and been cut to right above her shoulders. This hair color made her skin seem even more pale than he'd remembered.

Apparently someone noticed he was staring right at her since he felt a hand shake him slightly.

He looked up too see Gideon's worried eyes "Reid is there something wrong?"

He looked up connecting his eyes with Natalie's "We kind of know each other."

Natalie widened her eyes apparently noticing that this was in fact the same Reid she had known when she was just eighteen years old.

He widened his eyes when she went over to him taking him by surprise by hugging him tightly. She spoke up apparently becoming more comfortable since she'd seen a familiar face "Oh my god Spencer Reid is that really you?"

He nodded "Yeah Natalie it's me."

He glanced up at his team sighing. He would defiantly have to explain all of this.


	2. The Explanation and The Stalking

**I obviously** **don't own Criminal Minds or it's characters.** **I do own my characters though. Please review.**

Chapter Two: The Explanation and The Stalking.

Natalie finally let go of Spencer before she turned to face his very confused coworkers. She automatically blushed feeling like she had just made a complete idiot out of her self in front of these people whom she was desperately counting on to help her.

Morgan stared wide eyed at Spencer. For so long he'd thought that Reid didn't know a thing about women.

Now he was incredibly confused considering he'd just seen the young man be embraced in what seemed to be a very loving hug from an attractive young women.

"So how exactly do you two know each other?" Morgan asked unable to wipe the look off his face.

Spencer let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in "Uh well we kind of knew each other in Las Vegas. We used to live next door to each other when we were kids/".

"I took him to my senior prom." Natalie stated blushing slightly. She was still unbelievably embarrassed.

"But Reid weren't you like twelve when you were a senior in high school?" JJ blurted out knowing that Spencer had constantly reminded everyone how young he was when he'd graduated.

Spencer sighed scratching the back of his head "Yeah but it was her prom not mine. I didn't go to either of my proms so she decided that I should go to hers."

Gideon spoke up noticing the blush that was still very noticeable on Natalie's face "Well I guess everyone gets excited when they see old friends."

Natalie spoke up finally losing some of the blush "Well I guess I should get back to what I was about to say."

She went back over to where she'd been standing when she came in before picking up a large red tote bag that Spencer hadn't noticed she'd carried in with her and dropped on the floor.

"This is the third time I've moved in the past two months." She stated in a low almost meek voice before glancing down at her bag with a frown on her face.

"It started with the flowers. Every month on the fifth I'd open my front door to find a dozen yellow roses on my front porch." She stated frowning even harder at her back.

"Do the roses mean anything too you?" Prentiss asked truly feeling sorry for the girl since she did look quite frightened.

She sighed "Not really. I mean yellow is my favorite color, but I didn't put any thought into it. At first I'd thought maybe they had been delivered to the wrong house."

She reached into her bag pulling out a large plastic baggy full of jewelry of all sorts laying it on the round table that they were seated at. "I didn't think anything about it until I started getting jewelry on my porch and then the photos started."

Morgan spoke up frowning "The photos?"

She sighed reaching into her bag and pulling out a stack of photographs that all looked as though they'd been developed by whomever had taken them. She set them beside the jewelry "These photos are of me at the grocery store or at work. Then theres some of me out in front of my house, and theres also some of me inside my house. It looks like they were taken through a window."

"Have you noticed anyone following you? Or maybe a person who you always seem too run into. Have you seen someone at work that you notice staring at you." Hotch asked frowning down at his file.

She shook her head "No and I work at an antique store so I see different people almost everyday. The only ones that seem too come by a lot are good respected clients. They've never done anything that I'd consider really weird."

Prentiss spoke up "Have you received anything else?"

She nodded "Yeah I mean I have tons of things at home that I've found on my front porch letters, Cd's, stuffed animals, even articles of clothing like scarves and hats. Things have started showing up at work as well."

"Do you have security cameras at work that might of picked up who would be leaving these things?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah but their pointed at all of the merchandise not at my area of the front desk were things keep showing up." She stated running her hands through her hair.

"I've moved so much lately. I thought that whoever is doing this wouldn't be able too keep track of me if I moved. I've even changed the way I wear my make up. I dyed my hair and cut it too I guess I was hoping that they'd lose interest if I changed." She stated biting on to her bottom lip.

Spencer spoke up looking up at the girl that he'd once spent late nights talking to on his front porch as a child and a teen.

"Usually the type of stalker that it sounds like you have don't pay attention to the way you look. It's more about a smile or a look you might of given this person when you met or you ran into them. They usually associate the look or smile as the start of a relationship."

She widened her eyes still feeling amazed by how much he knew.

Gideon spoke up looking up from the photos that were currently be passed around the table "Miss Donovan have you recently ended a relationship with someone? Maybe it ended badly or this person tried to persuade you into not ending it. They may still call you or come by to see you."

She shook her head sighing "I don't really have long lasting relationships. I've been on a few blind dates but they usually don't go over very well."

She paused for a moment before she let out a small laugh "Well I guess no ones blind dates ever go that well."

Gideon nodded before he spoke up again staring over at Spencer then Morgan "Reid and Morgan I want you to go to Miss. Donovan's house with her. I need you too look at these things she's been given. Prentiss and JJ will go to the antique store and have a look around. Hotch and I will see if we can look at this jewelry."

He sighed glancing over at Garcia who was currently staring back and forth between Spencer and Natalie "Garcia can you take a look at these photographs maybe scan them on to your computer?"

Garcia nodded "Yeah that shouldn't be a problem at all."

Natalie let out a sigh of relief. She was thankful that she hadn't been turned away like she'd been when she tried going to the police. All the police had said was that she should get a restraining order. What good did that do though if she didn't know who was stalking her?

"Thank you I appreciate the help." She stated reaching up and running her hands through her hair.

"It's really no problem. I'm glad to help an old friend of Dr. Reid." Gideon stated smiling at her politeness.

She nodded her head before Morgan finally spoke up "Miss. Donovan did you drive here or what?"

"No I don't have a car so I took a cab. Please call me Natalie. I feel weird being called Miss. Donovan." She stated sighing slightly.

He nodded smiling "Okay then Natalie. I guess we'll drive you over too your house then."

She nodded following the two out the building before finally making it too the parking lot and getting into the back of a black SUV.

She sighed staring out the window as they pulled away. She couldn't be more thrilled than she was right now. This had been going on for so long now. Maybe she could finally live a normal life now that she had some help.

Reid glanced in the rear view mirror looking at her. She really hadn't changed a bit. She was still as beautiful and sweet as she'd been when they were eighteen.

He bit his bottom lip ignoring the knowing look Morgan was currently giving him. This was going to be one long case.


	3. The Gifts and The Bosses Order

**No I still don't own Criminal Minds nor it's characters. If I did why would I bother putting it on the Internet. I own my characters though. Please do review.**

Chapter Three: The Gifts and The Bosses Order.

Spencer let out a sigh of relief as the SUV pulled up to Natalie's house. He'd spent the entire ride listening to Morgan quiz Natalie on what Spencer was like as a kid and a teenager.

Spencer was unbelievably embarrassed now. Sure she hadn't said anything truly embarrassing about him. Still it made him feel awkward hearing them talk about him like he wasn't even here.

He widened his eyes once he got a view of Natalie's house. Sure it was a rental property but it was nice. Much nicer than anything he'd pictured a single salesperson living in.

It was white with aluminum siding the same as all the houses around it. It did have more plants around it though More than the rest of the houses.

He could see now why it would be so easy to take pictures and hang around so close to the house without anyone noticing. There were so many trees and bushes that it would probably be easy to hide and take a quick photo or two.

He snapped out of staring at the house when he noticed that Morgan had already followed Natalie up to the front door. He managed to catch up just as Natalie opened the door.

He was once again surprised to see that the inside of her house was just as nice as the outside.

She had more antiques than he'd ever seen in one place. Everything she owned seemed to have some vintage feel to it. Even the wallpaper looked a bit old. The wallpaper all seemed to be powder blue butterfly prints and floral prints.

The house had to be at least two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living room with a kitchenette. Not to mention it had a large backyard.

He frowned when he noticed her shutting the front door. The door had at least six different locks on it and she locked every single one of them.

He jumped slightly when he heard an unbelievably loud barking. He looked into the kitchenette too see a surprisingly large black lab dog standing at the doorway barking at more than likely Morgan and him.

Natalie rolled her eyes slightly "Sorry about her let me put her outside. Just have a seat anywhere."

He nodded managing to take a seat beside Morgan on a dark red couch as he watched her lead the dog out back by it's collar. He frowned seeing that the dogs bright pink food bowl said Cookie. Why was it that all the large scary dogs had nice sweet names?

They looked up when she came back and headed to one of the bedrooms. She came out of the room carrying a large garbage bag. She spoke up frowning slightly "This is everything I've gotten on my front porch and at work."

"Well lets go through this then." Morgan stated taking the bag from her and dumping everything out.

Spencer frowned seeing the pile of things. She wasn't lying about receiving lots of gifts. There was tons of expensive looking jewelry of all types rings, bracelets, even a few necklaces. There had to be at least a dozen stuffed bears all different sizes, and a large snow globe. There were dozens of hats and scarves and a few dresses.

She finally spoke up frowning "Hold on let me go get the letters."

Morgan spoke up when she left the room "It looks like he's trying to win her over with expensive gifts. Which means he more than likely has some kind of a serious cash flow coming his way."

Spencer nodded frowning "Or he's stolen some of these things."

"Here these are all the letters I've received. Their arranged be the order that I've gotten them in." She stated as she came back into the room carrying a large stack of letters.

All of the letters seemed to written on different types of stationary. Stationary that looked just as expensive as everything else.

Spencer took the letters from her. Not helping but to notice how soft her skin was. Her hands felt just like he remembered.

She more than likely used a lot of lotion. He blinked a few times trying to get his head back into what he was supposed to be doing.

He started going through the letters before he looked over at Morgan frowning "He's started all of these of referring to her as sweetheart and he's ended all of them with, you know I'm the one. He keeps describing himself to her. It's almost like he's trying to impress her."

Morgan nodded his head "He thinks their together and he more than likely thinks she knows who he is. He's trying to build up an image that he thinks she'll like."

Spencer nodded before looking back up at Natalie. Who was currently pacing back and forth and running her hands through her hair.

He felt slightly bad talking about her like she wasn't even in the same room as them. She looked scared enough as it was. She more than likely didn't need to hear all of this and get even more frightened.

He frowned when Morgan's cell phone rang. Morgan answered it automatically going out front and leaving Spencer alone with Natalie.

He bit his bottom lip as he looked up at her. He sighed wondering what exactly he could say to distract her. He finally came up with something before speaking up "Your house is really nice."

She looked up widening her eyes more than likely noticing he'd been watching her. She spoke up sighing "Thanks the rent is hell though. I kind of wish I'd just went ahead and rented an apartment."

"Yeah I bet." He stated wishing Morgan would hurry up and get back in here before he made a fool of himself.

He sighed trying to come up with something else he could say "So how long have you been living here?"

She shrugged "About a year, but I've moved around a lot since I've gotten here. It seems like no matter how much I move he always seems to find me."

He looked up when she spoke up again "So you made it into the BAU huh?"

He nodded "Yeah. It's not easy but I like it. I really can't picture myself doing anything else."

He frowned when Morgan walked in now off the phone. He looked down at Spencer sighing "Hey kid I need to talk to you outside."

Spencer nodded getting up and following Morgan out to the front yard.

Morgan sighed speaking up "Gideon wants one of us to stay with her until this is all over. You know go to work with her and keep an eye on her."

Spencer frowned sighing "Why? I mean can't we just put some surveillance on the neighborhood and the antique store?"

"No Hotch is afraid it'll draw attention from the neighbors. I mean come on this is a small neighbor hood and i think they'd notice a car circling the block. Gideon just wants someone to you know to keep an eye on things see if we see anything out of the ordinary." Morgan stated

He spoke up frowning "Who's going to stay?"

Morgan sighed "I personally think it should be you. I mean Reid you already know the girl and she trusts you. I just want to know if you'd have any problems with it?"

"What do you mean problems?" He stated feeling his cheeks turn pink

"You know what I mean. You two obviously have some type of history and I see the way you look at her. You look at her in ways that a friend shouldn't look at another friend. You obviously have romantic feelings for her." Morgan stated

"It's not like that. Were just friends." He stated feeling his cheeks burn even more.

"Yeah whatever. So do you have any problems with it." Morgan replied noticing that Spencer's face had turned to a bright shade of pink.

Morgan knew that Spencer may say that their just friends but the loon on his face was giving his true feelings away. Morgan tried not to laugh or even show that he knew what was going through Spencer's head.

Spencer sighed speaking up "I'll be okay. I'll do it."

Morgan nodded "Okay lets go tell her. Don't worry I'll stay here while you go get your clothes and everything else your going to need."

Spencer rolled his eyes as they headed back into the house. What did Morgan mean he liked her? Okay he did. He'd had a crush on her since he was about 15, but really was it that obvious?


	4. Memories and Old Photographs

**I still do not own Criminal Minds nor it's Characters. They belong to CBS and the shows creator. My Characters do belong to me. Please review.**

Chapter Four: Memories And Old Photographs

Spencer sighed as he followed Natalie into her house. It was almost dusk now and the day hadn't been too terribly interesting. He had spent the entire day watching her and everyone she talked to at the antique shop.

It had been a bit awkward hanging out there all day sitting at a chair beside her desk watching people. Natalie's boss, Mrs. Richards had been less than happy about his presence but thankfully she'd allowed him to stay.

Morgan had called him more than a few times today to check on things and update him on the case. Or at least that was his excuse.

Spencer personally thought that he was calling just to tease him considering he kept on calling him romeo and lover boy. He had also started referring to Natalie as Spencer's girlfriend no mater how many times Spencer tried to say they were just friends.

Spencer had to admit though he'd enjoyed watching Natalie. He knew that sounded slightly weird and maybe a little obsessive. It had been nice though being able to see her and talk to her. Though they hadn't really talked about much of anything except for her case.

She was worried and he didn't blame her. They hadn't found were the jewelry or the other gifts had come from and the only thing Garcia had said about the photos was that they'd been taken at a close distance from Natalie.

The thought of someone stalking her made him feel slightly angry. He could admit that he was protective of her. Though he hadn't seen her in person since they were eighteen he still thought of her as his best friend and the one person he could talk to about anything.

He looked up from the book that he was currently reading when she spoke up sighing and staring down at the black dress she was currently wearing. Spencer had found out that she had to dress up at work "I really need to get out of these clothes."

He nodded watching her head back to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. He sighed laying his book down on the coffee table in front of him before looking around the living room. He hadn't really had much time to look around the day before.

He had gone to bed early the night before and he hadn't slept well because of the dog. Cookie kept on coming into the guest room and staring at him.

It had made him slightly nervous considering the dog looked like it wanted to kill Morgan and him earlier. Thankfully the dog had been put out first thing this morning and he personally hoped it would stay out.

He sighed getting up from the couch and heading over to the bookcase when he noticed several photos lined up along the shelves. She surprisingly had a lot of childhood photos of them.

Probably because her father was taking photographs all the time. He taught photography at the college when they were growing up. He could always remember that her father had been thrilled that his daughter had a friend like Spencer. He was so impressed that Spencer knew what he did when he'd met him for the first time.

He couldn't help but to let a smile spread across his face when he came across her prom photo.

She had looked completely beautiful at her prom. She had worn a very girly knee length light pink dress. He had thought that he was the luckiest guy in the world. He really couldn't believe she had wanted him of all people to take her.

He knew that she probably had plenty of guys that would have loved to take her to prom. she'd asked him though saying she'd rather have her best friend in the entire world take her than anyone else .

Besides she'd reminded him that he hadn't gone to his prom. He'd only been twelve when he was a senior and if he'd shown up he would've been beaten to a bloody pulp.

The end of that night had been perfect. She'd kissed him and it wasn't just a friendly kiss on the cheek either. It was an actual kiss his first kiss.

He frowned remembering what he'd said when she broke this kiss. He'd asked her why she did that and she just shrugged looking embarrassed. She'd said it was because he'd never kissed a girl before, but somehow he had a feeling that what she'd said wasn't what she really meant.

He sometimes wondered if she felt the same way he did. The way he had felt since he was fifteen years old. He could remember the exact second he had started feeling that way.

He had just turned fifteen and he was supposed to be helping her with science. Science and math were the two subjects in school that she'd always had trouble really understanding. He'd offered to help her, since it really wouldn't be any trouble to him.

He was already trying to finish up work on his second PhD the one he had in physics. They were up in his room and she had her science book sitting in front of her. He had put his mother to bed and hour ago and he was supposed to be helping Natalie focus on the periodic table.

All he could focus on though was how nice she smelled almost like lilacs or some other sweet smelling flower. Sure he'd started noticing girls when he was about thirteen, but he'd never really noticed Natalie though. Not until right at that moment.

It might have been because her dad had just started letting her wear makeup and perfume. All he knew though was that right at that moment he'd decided that he loved her. Needless to say he'd had a difficult time helping her with her school work from that point on.

He frowned slightly looking up from the photos. They had been so innocent then and he knew that things had changed. He knew he had changed in just the few years that he'd been at the BAU.

The things he'd seen, the people he'd met, and the ones he'd put away had changed him so much. He knew he wasn't the same person he was when he was eighteen.

He knew he could never be that person again. Not after all the things he'd been through at the BAU. It didn't seem like it had only been six months since he'd been kidnapped in Georgia. It really didn't seem like it had been that long at all.

Even though no one asked him about anymore or gave him worried and apologetic looks. Thankfully he had gotten off the diluadid during the first month. He wasn't sure though how he could ever tell her about any of that. He wasn't sure he could. After all he hadn't told anyone he worked with about the drugs though he was sure they knew.

He jumped slightly when Natalie spoke up "Do you want some coffee or anything? I don't really know what I'm going to do about dinner yet. I really haven't had the chance to go grocery shopping yet."

He turned around to face her seeing that she'd changed into a black pair of pajama pants and a white tank top. He spoke up as she walked into her kitchenette "Sure coffee would be great. Make whatever you want for dinner. I usually don't get a chance to eat a real meal with work and all. So what ever you want will be fine."

"Okay I'm sure I can find something." She stated as she started the coffee pot.

He sighed managing to make his way back to the couch before she spoke up "I hope you slept well. No one ever sleeps in that guest room. So I don't know if it's really that comfortable."

"It was okay. I slept really well." He stated deciding he probably shouldn't bring up the dog or how he'd really slept right now.

"Thats good. Like I said I really don't have guests that much. Especially since this whole thing started. I sometimes wonder why it had to be me." She stated frowning slightly as she looked through her refrigerator.

He frowned wanting to tell her that it would all be okay. That he would make sure it stopped and he would take care of her when it was over. He knew that he couldn't promise her something like that though.

He looked up when she came over to him handing him a light green coffee cup. "I didn't know how you drink your coffee so I just put some sugar in it." She stated

He took it from her working out a thank you. Even though he was focusing on the fact that she still smelled nice. He guessed she still used the same perfume.

He sighed watching her go back to the kitchenette. Maybe there was a possibility that they could be more than friends.

After all his mother always used to tell him when she wasn't so sick, that there was always a possibility for anything if you tried hard enough.


	5. A Late Night Talk and A Confession

**I Still don't own Criminal Minds nor it's characters. If I did why would I put it on the Internet. I own my own characters. Please do review.**

Chapter Five: A Late Night Talk and A Confession

Spencer let out a slight huff as he rolled over in bed for about the third time managing to kick the blankets and sheets almost all the way off him in the process.

He couldn't sleep. Honestly he couldn't. He really wasn't just using the inability to sleep as an excuse to look over case files this time. He guessed he was worried.

He was worried about Natalie, but that was nothing new. He was also worried about the fact that he was enjoying this all so much. He was completely happy.

Well maybe not exactly happy. He wasn't exactly a ball of joy, but he was content. He guessed that was the right word. It was amazing this was the first time in his life that he was having a hard time deciding which word he should use.

He knew he was supposed to be here to work. To keep an eye on things, but all he could focus on was Natalie.

He could admit he was unbelievably attracted to her. Even more attracted than he'd been as a teenager. He loved the way she smiled and the way she talked to him. It was almost like they were kids on their front porches again.

He had discovered that he loved a long list of things about her. He loved her smell, how soft her skin seemed to be, and her hair.

Her hair had been his newest found love. He liked the way it looked when she'd take it down after work. It would cradle her face perfectly going down to right below her shoulders. The way she looked almost reminded him of the angels on the Christmas cards that he tried to send his mother every year.

He sighed managing to kick off the sheets that had somehow managed to still cover his feet. He got up from the bed and made his way out of the guest room slightly surprised to see her.

Natalie looked up when Spencer walked out of the guest room. She had been having a difficult time sleeping. Then again could anyone blame her for not wanting to sleep when there was someone out there watching her every move.

She bit her bottom lip speaking up "I'm sorry I didn't wake you up right?"

He sighed seeing that she apparently wasn't getting any sleep either. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room. She had apparently tried to sleep since she was in her pajamas which consisted of a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts.

He swallowed the lump in his throat reminding himself to add her legs to the growing list of things that he loved about her.

"No I'm fine. I just can't sleep thats all." He stated managing to sit himself beside her

She nodded running her hand through her hair before speaking up "Me either."

She frowned staring down at her coffee table before managing to look back up at Spencer biting her bottom lip "I hate this. I've had too change so much about my life since this all started. When will it stop?"

He sighed wanting to tell her that he knew. He truly wanted to give her an answer. He wanted to make all the worry leave her face and make her smile.

He knew he didn't have the answer though. So he did the only thing he could do. He embraced her in a tight protective hug.

She hugged him back burying her head in his chest and managing to work out a few tears. She knew the tears were from stress.

She also knew that they were partly from the fact that she'd wanted to do this so long. Not hug him. They'd hugged all the time when they were kids and teenagers as strange as the people around them thought it was.

She wanted him to hold her to take care of her just like he used to do when they were younger.

She frowned remembering that she hadn't even asked him how he was. Here he was taking care of her and she couldn't even ask him how he was doing.

She broke the hug and looked up at him completely changing the subject "How have you been? Hows your mom?"

He raised his eyebrows surprised by her change of conversation, but then again he knew that it was a fact that people changed the conversation when they were under stress. "I'm okay I work a lot. My moms okay to I guess. The doctor and the nurses and Bennington take care of her. They make sure she gets her medication. He delusions are still bad though. I visit her as much as I can and I write her everyday."

She nodded noticing that though they'd broken the hug they were still close almost right up against each other. "Thats really good Spencer. It's nice that you write her."

"Hows your family?" He stated feeling nervous noticing that they were close as well.

"Good I guess. My dads still working and he refuses to retire. My brothers working at some bookstore. He still wont go back to college even though he dropped out four years ago." She paused frowning before she continued "And my mom, well my mom's getting married again. She wanted me in the wedding but I lied and said that I couldn't get off work."

He nodded knowing she'd never gotten along with her mother. Her parents had divorced before she could walk and her mother had basically given away sole custody of her two children to their father.

She hadn't really used her visitation either. She was too busy traveling the country only coming back to see her children every so often. Her mother basically got married every few years like it was a sport or a hobby.

Her mother never acted like she liked Spencer. She hated how close Natalie and he were. He noticed that any time she actually saw them hug or Natalie kiss his cheek she'd get a worried almost angry look on her face. He guessed he wasn't her ideal future son in law.

He looked down when Natalie giggled slightly "Remember what a big fit she threw when she found out that you were taking me to my senior prom. She yelled at my dad over the phone and promptly told him that he should make sure I find a boyfriend."

He nodded smiling slightly "Yeah I think she would've been happy if any other guy had taken you."

"I wouldn't have been though". She stated smiling. She frowned before she spoke up hesitantly "I have a confession to make. Can I admit something to you?"

He nodded curious to see what she had to admit to him "Yeah go ahead."

She bit her bottom lip before speaking up "You remember prom night right. How I kissed you. I said it was because you never kissed a girl before, but I was lying. I wanted to kiss you."

He widened his eyes slightly. This couldn't be happening. Girls like her didn't want to kiss guys like him. It was a common fact.

She spoke up again looking down at her hands worried that his silent reaction had meant the worst "I love you Spencer."

That was the last thing she said and he didn't know how it had happened but somehow they ended up even closer and she was kissing him deeply.

He frowned thinking he should stop this no mater how good the kiss felt. It wasn't right she was vulnerable right now.

He broke the kiss speaking up in short huffs as she tried to kiss him again "Natalie we really shouldn't be doing this. We can't do this right now. Your scared and your not thinking about the consequences."

She frowned almost feeling like she'd burst into tears. This was the main reason she'd never confessed how she felt about him.

She was so damned afraid that he'd reject her. "I love you Spencer. I really do love you as more than just a friend. I mean it your my best friend. I need us to be more than friends though. I've wanted that since I was just a teenager."

He sighed "Your vulnerable right now. What if we do this and you wake up tomorrow or the next day and regret this all. It might ruin our friendship."

She shook her head "I wont regret it. I love you and I could never stop being your friend. Even if things never worked out for us. Please tell me that you feel the same way Spencer. Don't tell me I just poured out my heart to you only to have your reject me."

He sighed knowing there was no denying it. He loved her. He always had. "I love you to Natalie. I have for a while now."

He was the one who kissed her this time and it was quickly deepened by her. Somehow the kisses led to making out on the couch, which led to plenty of touching, which eventually led to her bedroom, which led to the one thing they knew would change everything forever.

* * *

Spencer rolled over in bed smiling at the sight of Natalie. She was fast asleep close beside him with the covers pulled up right up to her neck.

The night before had been amazing. Okay more than amazing, but he was too tired right now to think of a word to describe it.

He'd never once in a million years thought that she'd be his first but it had somehow turned out that way. Yes it was awkward and all the other things he'd pictured his first time being but it was still perfect. She was perfect and the way she felt about him was perfect.

He pulled to comforter down slightly before he kissed her shoulder causing her to wake up and smile sleepily at him "Hi Spence."

He leaned over kissing her lips softly before speaking up "Hey."

He leaned up managing to look at her alarm clock before staring down at her "You don't have work today right?"

She shook her head no sighing "No I think my boss is a little weirded out about the fact that I have an FBI agent following me."

He nodded before speaking up "Lets go get some breakfast then."

They managed to get out of bed and get dressed. After about a dozen kisses and I love yous they'd finally made it to the front door opening it. Natalie froze staring down at the porch.

Spencer frowned looking down to see what had caught her attention . He let out a sigh when he saw what she was looking at. More jewelery. A gold necklace and a bracelet to be exact.

He looked up at his best friend and now girlfriend before speaking up "We need to get this to the BAU."

They picked it up making their way to his car. So much for having a perfect normal day.


	6. Lunch and What The Stalker Sees

**I own nothing from Criminal Minds. Criminal Minds belongs to CBS. I make no money from this. I only own my characters. Please do review.**

Chapter Six: Lunch and What the Stalker Sees.

Spencer frowned as he glanced over at Natalie whom was currently staring out the passengers window. He felt a slight pang of guilt as he stared down at the bracelet and necklace that was currently sitting in one of the cup holders in between them.

He could have gotten whoever was doing all this last night if he hadn't been so comfortable. Cookie had come into Natalie's bedroom and wined at him more than likely wanting him to get up and see who was on the front porch. He had ignored her though and gone back to sleep.

After all why did he need to get up when he was pressed against the unclothed soft body of Natalie Donovan?

If he'd just gotten up and gone to look then this would all be over. Natalie wouldn't be so worried sick if he'd gotten up.

He glanced over at Natalie as they pulled into the parking garage and found a place to park. He wanted so desperately to say something. Anything that would make her feel a little better, but he couldn't make his mouth quite form the right words.

He gently took her hand in his as they made their way into the building and up to the sixth floor. He bit his bottom lip trying to ignore the looks they were getting as they stepped out of the elevator. He knew it was obvious to people that they were together and he knew that was quite a shock. Even to the people he didn't really work with. Especially considering pretty much everyone knew that he had no experience when it came to girls.

He took her upstairs towards the conference room to see everyone gathered around the table looking over the gifts making notes. He cleared his throat causing them to all look up at Natalie and him.

He spoke up looking towards Gideon as he held up the jewelry "We got this on her front porch this morning".

"Did you hear or see anything"? Gideon stated trying to ignore the fact that everyone at the table was staring at the fact that Spencer was holding Natalie's hand like it might fall off if he let go of it.

"No nothing at all". Spencer stated bitting his bottom lip.

Gideon nodded speaking up "Reid can I talk to you in my office for a moment"?

He nodded reluctantly leaving Natalie in the conference room with the others. He followed Gideon into his office taking a seat in one of the chairs across from the desk.

Gideon was the first to speak up frowning "Reid are you sure that you can stay with her alone and still focus on the case"?

Spencer bit his bottom lip not sure if he could "Yes I can".

"Okay I know you care about her, but try to focus on things". Gideon stated pausing slightly before speaking up again "I'm going to have Garcia do a background check on Natalie and everyone Natalie knows to see if we find anything".

Spencer nodded wanting to blurt out that Natalie was a trustworthy person so there was really no need to do a background check on her. He bit his tongue though nodding his head as he got up from the chair.

Spencer frowned staring down at his watch as Natalie and he finally left the building. It was almost lunch time. He really couldn't believe that they had been in there that long.

He glanced over at Natalie as soon as they got into the car before he spoke up "Lets go get something to eat okay".

She nodded her head still feeling a little uneasy about everything that had happened this morning.

She still didn't understand why this had to be happening to her. She should be experiencing the happiest moment of her life right now. After all she was with Spencer her first love. The man that she was now convinced was the love of her life. She had a good paying job, and family that loved her. So why did she have to be so miserable?

The finally made it to a diner and got a seat right beside each other in a booth. They managed to order their food before Spencer spoke up "It's all going to be okay. I wont let anything happen to you I promise".

She sighed looking up from her glass of soda. She stared down at his hand that was currently laying on top of hers on the table. "Spencer you shouldn't make a promise you can't keep".

"I mean it though Natalie. It's a real promise. Were going to take care of each other. I can keep that promise", He stated frowning

She nodded her head managing to turn and hug him tightly knowing that he truly meant it. He would protect her. They loved each other and that was all that mattered.

The moment felt truly perfect right now. It wouldn't have felt so wonderful though if they had known that they were currently being watched.

Alex Matthew's felt his hands curl into tight fists as he stood across the street. He ignored the harsh pain in his palm considering he'd been holding a cigarette and it was now burning the center of his palm.

He was technically supposed to be working right now. Moving things into this new clothing store that was opening across the street from the diner.

He'd looked up and saw her though. She was with that geek that had been following her around for the past week and a half. The one that she'd been laying in bed asleep with last night when he looked through her bedroom window.

He dropped the cigarette glaring at her. What did she think she was doing cuddling all over him? He felt his stomach turn seeing that they were kissing now. It should be him in that dorks place holding her.

How could she do this after all he had done for her. He'd spent so much on her buying her things that she liked. He'd even bought that ring from her boss. The old antique one that he saw Natalie staring at in the antique store she worked at.

Thats were he saw her for the first time. He'd been moving a few pieces of furniture that used to sit in some kind of bank into the antique store to be sold.

She'd been so nice to him when she was signing all that paperwork. People usually weren't very nice to him at his job. They were always angry always telling him to be careful with the boxes ,always yelling at him for showing up late.

She was different though. She'd been so sweet. From that moment on he knew she was the one.

He'd started following her after that wanting to know everything about her. He'd found out so much. She had a dog, she liked soy milk and sushi, she had a few friends, and she had a grandmother that lived in Las Vegas where the rest of her family lived.

He'd looked though her mail a few times when she hadn't been there. He'd taken letters and cards from her relatives and friends. He had even looked at a few of the catalogs she'd gotten. He'd ordered things from them. Things that he was sure she'd like.

She had never bothered to wear any of the things he'd gotten her. To tell the truth that fact pissed him off. How could she be so ungrateful? How could she be looking at this dork she was cuddling like he was the only one in her world?

How could she not notice that it should be him? He was the only one for her and he was sure that he'd make her notice that. Somehow she'd notice.


	7. Worries Apologies, and Doubts

**I still do not own Criminal Minds. I own my own characters. Please do review. **

Chapter Seven: Worries, Apologies, and Doubts

Morgan frowned as he made his way from his seat at the conference room where he'd been trying to wrap his brain around all these gifts. Trying to figure out where they'd all come from. Maybe if they found a receipt they could get a name.

He made his way down the hall and knocked on the frame of Gideon's office door never mind the fact that Gideon rarely ever closed his door.

He entered ignoring the fact that Hotch was already seated in the office. The two had more than likely been talking about what was worrying him as well. Two people had been worrying him, Reid and Natalie

He spoke up frowning "Are you sure your all good with this? I mean we told Reid it's okay to stay by himself with her when he's obviously not in any shape to really focus on the case".

Gideon sighed nodding his head. He knew it was true. He had always tried to believe that Reid could handle everything. After all everyone here tried to prepare him for life outside the BAU. He knew the truth was that this was not one of those things Reid could do by himself.

Hotch spoke up seeing that Gideon wasn't saying anything "He'll be alright".

Gideon frowned finally speaking up "Besides If I had taken him off the case he would have still gone over there to be with her. Theres really nothing any of us can say. They have an obvious history together".

Morgan nodded almost agreeing.

He knew that Reid had said that they were just friends, but things had obviously changed and this worried him. It was a fact that Reid didn't really date and now that he was this was technically dating this was a distraction. Especially since he was supposed to be protecting her.

He could tell by the way Reid was holding on to her hand and looking at her this afternoon that his friendship with Natalie wasn't going to be the biggest issue when it came to working this case.

He frowned when Gideon spoke up again "Go see Garcia. See what she's found out about the people Natalie's been in contact with".

He almost made it out the door before Gideon spoke up again "Maybe tomorrow afternoon you should consider getting your ready bag and going over there. You know just to be an extra set of eyes".

He nodded hoping that this would all work out for the best.

Yes he was slightly proud of Spencer. After all he'd spent so much time trying to get the guy to get out into the dating world and now he was finally doing it.

He was just worried about the fact that it had to be now. He could admit he was protective over Reid in an older brother sense. He was sure everyone here was a bit protective. Never mind the fact that Reid was a grown man not a child. It still didn't stop him from worrying.

He knew this stalker obviously had a deep obsession with Natalie, and if he saw Reid with her who knows what would happen.

* * *

Natalie felt a slight pang of guilt hit her stomach as she made her way out of the bathroom to her dark bedroom. She looked down at Spencer who was fast asleep as she slipped back into bed beside him.

She knew that he'd been in trouble with Gideon earlier. People's bosses didn't just drag them into their offices for no reason. She really hated that it had all been because of her. He was in trouble because he loved her and he was supposed to keep a distance from her.

She bit her lip trying to fight back a sob. She sometimes hated the fact that she had a tendency to be so over emotional.

She knew that this relationship had been destined to happen eventually. After all they'd been so close when they were kids. Sure she had tried dating guys when she was teenager, but they just didn't seem to make her feel safe and happy like her best friend did. After Spencer left she'd even seriously thought about saying to the hell with it with her college education and going to Washington to be with him. Part of her wondered if they'd be married with kids by now if she'd had the nerve to do that.

Spencer woke up right as a few tears managed to work their way out of Natalie's eyes causing her to let out a quiet sob.

He sat up automatically embracing her in a tight hug.

He rarely ever saw her cry. He had never seen her cry like this before and he didn't like it. The last time he'd seen her cry over something was when they were kids.

She was sixteen and her mother had gotten drunk before she'd come to see her and had told her in a drunken slur that she was a mistake. She had gone over to his house after that and spent the night with him. Not wanting to go home and face her dad. More than likely not wanting her father to feel guilty about not protecting her from her mothers visits. Not having it in her to make him feel guilty that he hadn't been able to stop the visits from her mother when they'd gotten divorced.

He sighed managing to speak up "Tell me whats wrong and I'll see if I can fix it".

She spoke up sniffling "I'm sorry".

"What are you sorry about"? He stated running his hands up and down her arms.

"Your supposed to be working, and your distracted because of me. I don't want you to get suspended or fired because of me". She stated bitting her bottom lip.

He frowned kissing her forehead "Natalie honey I'm not going to lose my job or get suspended because of us. I'm glad that you distract me. I love you, you know that right"?

She nodded her head "I know. I love you Spencer".

He sighed kissing her lips softly finally managing to stop her sobbing. She managed to kiss him back deeply letting him calm her down. He sighed pulling the covers up over them somehow not pulling back from the kiss before she let him make love to her.

Spencer woke up the next morning to the sound of Natalie's alarm. He sighed seeing that Natalie had already gotten up and was more than likely in the shower.

He got up from bed managing to make it over to his ready bag. He had been washing his clothes at the end of everyday, so he wouldn't run out of anything to wear.

He got dressed and made his way into the living room before sitting down waiting for Natalie to get done. She had work this morning.

He wondered if this was normal to be this attached to someone so quick in a relationship. Then again he didn't have much experience in dating so maybe this was the way it was supposed to be. After all he'd felt this way about her since he was fifteen and now it was finally happening. So of course he was going to feel this way. Maybe everyone felt this way at the beginning of a relationship.

Maybe everyone needed each other this much at first. It must be perfectly normal to not be able to imagine being with out that other person and to not be able to stop looking at them and touching them.

He still had a slight worry in the back of his mind though. The more self conscious part of his brain was telling him that she was just clinging to him out of fear. There was a slight possibility that when this was all over that she'd realize that she only liked him as a friend. She would just dump him and then he'd be alone again.

He frowned trying to shake that thought out of his head. No she would never do that to him. She loved him and he loved her. They would still be able to keep things together after this was all over.

He jumped as he heard her voice. "Spencer are your ready to go"?

He looked up at her seeing that she'd already gotten dressed and was on her way out the door.

Spencer got up managing to follow her holding her hand on the way out to the car.

He managed to start the car as he tried to focus on driving though it was hard considering he found himself staring at her every five seconds.

They would make it after all this was over right? He sighed glancing over at her automatically knowing his answer. Yes they would.


	8. Sirens and Another Order

**The disclaimer still remains the same. I don't own Criminal Minds nor its characters. I own all of my characters. **

**Please do review.**

Chapter Eight: Sirens and Another order

Spencer and Natalie both widened their eyes as they pulled up to Natalie's work. He glanced over at Natalie as she let out a slight gasp. "Spence whats going on"?

He bit his bottom lip feeling just as clueless as her. The entire store was surrounded with bright yellow crime scene tape, an ambulance, and two black SUVs.

"I don't know". He stated honestly not having any earthly idea of what was going on right in front of them. No one had called him to tell him about any sort of emergencies. Surely if it was something huge than someone would've called him right?

He somehow managed to make his way out of the car grabbing Natalie's hand as they made it up to the scene. They were spotted by Morgan automatically and let behind the yellow tape and into the antique store. They frowned seeing something that looked unmistakably like a full body bag being hoisted up onto a backboard and led to the ambulance out front.

Natalie spoke up giving Morgan a questioning look "What's going on? Whats happened here"?

Morgan spoke up motioning over to Prentiss "Natalie, Agent Prentiss has a few questions for you".

Natalie reluctantly worked her way out of the protective grasp of Spencer's hand before she made her way over to Prentiss. She was led over to an old leather sofa being told something that made her widen her eyes and turn an unhealthy shade before she let out a sob that was anything but quiet.

Spencer started to make his way towards her wanting to comfort her. Truly wanting to tell her that he would take care of it all though he really had no idea of what was going on right now.

Morgan stopped him dead in his tracks though speaking up "Her boss. Lydia Richards she's dead. It looks like she was stabbed and dumped in this store wrapped up in a sheet".

Spencer felt bile rise in his throat upon hearing this. He looked down trying to ignore Morgan's worried glance.

This was all his fault. If he had been doing his job then none of this would of happened. He frowned knowing that it wasn't true. This wasn't his fault it was no ones fault really.

Lydia Richards had technically been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was just being used to punish Natalie because someone had some sort of deep obsession with her. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut knowing that she might be being punished all because of their relationship.

He looked up raising his eyebrows when Morgan spoke up sighing as he remembered what Gideon and Hotch had ordered him to do the night before "Gideon wants me to stay with her until this is over".

Spencer automatically felt panic set in. Though he had been wondering why Morgan hadn't been the one sent to stay with her. Especially considering Morgan was an expert when it came to obsessional crimes. He knew though that everyone had thought that his past with Natalie wouldn't effect the case.

Things had become so obvious that he couldn't do this all alone. He had way too much of an emotional connection to Natalie. He loved her.

He sighed wondering if this meant that he was being kicked of the case. Wondering if Gideon had decided that he wasn't cut out for this job. Busy wondering if he'd be demoted to some kind of desk job when this was all said and done with.

He let out a sigh of relief when Morgan spoke up again obviously noticing to look on Spencer's face "Your not going to be taken off this case. Your not going to be suspended or anything like that either. Gideon just thought that you could use some help".

He nodded his head not really sure what he should say or do. Morgan spoke up again sighing "Have you noticed anything? Seen anyone that struck you as odd? Maybe some that seemed frustrated to see you or even a little bit to eager to talk to Natalie"?

Spencer frowned speaking up "No. I mean I didn't see anyone that I thought could do this to someone".

He spoke up again after a long pause "I should have been taking care of Natalie. I shouldn't have let my guard down so easily. None of this would have happened if I'd just stuck to the case. He's punishing her all because of me. That womens dead because I let my feelings for Natalie distract me".

"You know you can't blame yourself for any of this right? You care about her and you can't just put those feelings aside. No matter who you are or how professional your supposed to be you can't change the way you feel about her. Your not the only one whose ever let their true feelings for someone take them over a little". Morgan stated patting Spencer's shoulder not really sure what else he could say.

Morgan knew that Spencer blamed himself for too much even if things weren't his fault. It was just part of his personality and it was something Morgan and everyone else had noticed after working with him.

Spencer guessed that it was true that this could happen to anyone. Everyone let their guard down when it was someone they cared about.

Spencer sighed glancing over at Natalie whom was currently wiping her eyes with a rolled up Kleenex while she tried hard to answer Prentiss and now Gideon's questions.

He knew that even if she was the victim of a current stalking case it still didn't mean that he didn't have the right to still think of her as the sweet loving girl that he'd fallen hard for. The girl that he remembered as his best friend and crush from his childhood and teenage years. The girl that he was now completely sure was the love of his life.

He knew that his emotions were all so obvious to everyone. He was never this unprofessional when it came to work. He always tried to do his best to prove that he wasn't too young for his job.

He hugged Natalie the second she walked back over to Morgan and him. He let her collapse into more tears on to his chest starting to slightly soak his gray button down shirt and dark tie. He tried to whisper to her that he loved her as he held on to her tightly managing to run his hand through her hair.

He knew that hugging her right here in front of everyone probably wasn't the best idea. This technically was work right now and these were strangers witnessing this. Not to mention all his colleges and his mentor were currently watching him hold her.

It didn't make sense for him not to hold her though. What kind of person didn't want to comfort the person they loved and needed no matter what was going on at the moment? He knew that he would never let her suffer like this. No matter what he had to take care of her.

He managed to look up from the hug trying his best to look out the store front windows trying to see if he saw anyone staring at them. Or at least anyone that looked pleased with the whole media frenzy. Or looked a little angry too see agents and police officers wondering around outside.

Natalie looked up from Spencer's chest when Morgan spoke up letting himself place a hand on her back "I'm going to stay with Reid and you until all of this ends".

He paused before managing to speak up with a slight smile "I promise I'll camp out on your couch no matter how long this takes".

She smiled a managed to let out a soft laugh at this comment through a few sobs though she didn't let herself out of the tight grip that Spencer was currently embracing her in.

Spencer felt his cheeks turn pink when it hit him that he'd have to explain to Morgan that he wouldn't have to worry about camping out on the couch.

The guest room was completely empty and available to Morgan. Especially since Spencer had found himself sleeping in Natalie's room in her bed with her ever since they'd admitted their true feelings for each other and made love for the first time.

He knew that explaining this to Morgan was going to be awkward to say the least.


	9. What To Do

**Disclaimer Remains the same**

**Please do review.**

Chapter Nine: What To Do

The ride home had been a silent one to say the least. The only noise there had been was the low tune of the ancient radio in Spencer's car.

As soon as they'd walked into the front door of Natalie's house she spoke up running her hands though her now tangled hair. "I need to take a shower. I can smell it on me".

Spencer gave her a worried look watching her head to the bathroom shutting the door behind her. He glanced over at Morgan who was currently dropping his suitcase in front of the couch.

He spoke up swallowing the lump in his throat "You can have the guest room".

Morgan raised his eyebrows speaking up in mock seriousness "No offense Reid. I mean I like you and all, but I don't think I can share a bed with you".

Spencer rolled his eyes ignoring his sarcasm"I've been sleeping in Natalie's room so you'll have it all to yourself".

He tore his eyes away from Morgan before speaking up "I need to go check on her. She's taking this all really hard".

"Okay. Do you think she'll mind if I start some coffee? I think we all need some after today". Morgan stated giving his friend a concerned look.

Spencer shook his head as he made his way towards the bathroom door "She probably wouldn't mind. The coffee's in the cabinet next to the stove. Help yourself".

He finally made his way into the bathroom as he knocked on the door speaking up not being able to get the worried tone out of his voice. "Natalie sweetheart are you okay"?

He felt his stomach drop as he heard a quiet sobbing from inside the closed curtained bathtub. He walked over to the tub slash shower stall pulling the light pink butterfly printed curtain back.

He frowned when he saw her sitting down in the tub with the shower on and her knees pulled up tight against her rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

He knelled down beside the tub embracing her and running his hand through her wet tangled hair not caring that he was getting his gray shirt completely soaked. "I'm so sorry Natalie".

She spoke up looking up at him with bloodshot eyes "Spencer I'm next".

He shook his head "No your not. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm never going to let anything happen to you"?

"And how many times do I have to remind you that you can't predict the future. You have no idea what could happen to me and you can't control it.". She stated.

He sighed nodding his head "I know that nothing in life is predictable, but thats not going to stop me from protecting you".

She said nothing in response to this before he spoke up again "Lets get you out of this tub okay".

She nodded her head before he got up peaking out the bathroom door thankful to see that Morgan was busy in the kitchenette and wouldn't see anything.

He went back to the tub turning off the shower as he grabbed a light purple towel handing to her as she stood up.

"Do you think your okay to walk to the bedroom"? He stated not sure if he could lift her. He had never tried and he defiantly didn't want to drop her.

"Yeah I'll be fine". She stated knowing the truth. She would never be just fine again. Even if this guy was caught she'd always remember all of this. It was with her for life now.

They finally made it to her bedroom thankfully not being spotted by Morgan. Natalie sat down on the edge of her bed as Spencer rummaged through her dresser trying to find a pair of pajamas for her to wear.

He finally came across a pair of yellow pajama pants and a simple gray t shirt. He handed the articles of clothing to her with a pair of plain white undergarments. She got dressed quickly before speaking up again "I can smell it on me".

He frowned speaking up as he changed his shirt "Smell what honey"?

"Death, I could smell it as soon as we entered the store. There was blood where she was laying and I could smell it". She stated with widened eyes

He sighed knowing that her smelling anything was all psychological, but he knew he couldn't tell her that. She was obviously in shock. "Lay down okay. I'll go get you something to eat. It's almost lunch time and you didn't eat breakfast".

He made his way to the kitchenette as he attempted to find something for her to eat. He sighed when Morgan spoke up "Is she okay"?

"What do you think"? He stated as he slammed the refrigerator door shut.

Morgan raised his eyebrows surprised by the fact that Spencer had just practically snapped at him. Spencer frowned feeling guilty when he saw the shocked look on Morgan's face. "Sorry. She's not doing to good. She says she can smell death on her".

Morgan nodded his head as he heard this "It's all psychological".

Spencer nodded his head as he opened the fridge again making a second attempt to find something "I know".

"Is there anything I can do for her...for you"? Morgan stated as he frowned down at the coffee pot not being able to meet Spencer's eyes as he asked this.

"Yeah do you think you could hold off on asking her anymore questions? At least until tomorrow". Spencer stated as he managed to shove two leftover takeout boxes of noodles and sesame chicken that still looked edible into the microwave.

Morgan nodded knowing that not asking her anything wouldn't be that great for the case, but if Spencer was asking him this favor he'd have to do it "Okay. I'll need to talk to her tomorrow though".

Spencer nodded his head not responding as he made his way back towards Natalie's bedroom somehow managing not to drop anything.

He handed over the box of chicken to Natalie before she spoke up "What do I do if whoever is doing this gets me"?

He sighed looking up from his takeout box as he spoke up "No one is going to get you okay".

"You don't know that. It could happen. What do I need to do to stay alive"? She stated taking a sip from the can of diet coke that he'd brought her with the food.

He bit his bottom lip as he sat down on the edge of the bed "The best thing you can do is play into his delusions. Just go along with whatever he says. Try to keep calm and don't let him get angry. If he gets angry he might kill you in a moment of rage".

She nodded her head feeling her stomach churn as she remembered the scene at the antique store earlier. She prayed that she would never have to use anything that Spencer just told her. She knew though that he couldn't really protect her from having to use it. No matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't.


	10. Coffee and Three Men

**Disclaimer remains the same. **

**Please Review**

Chapter Ten: Coffee and Three Men

Spencer woke up long before Natalie the next morning. He somehow managed to get his arms out from around her before he made his way into the kitchen and started the coffee pot.

He turned around when he heard Morgan's voice. "I don't know about you, but after this I'm taking a long vacation".

He raised his eyebrows not sure how he should really respond. Sure he talked to Morgan all the time, on jet rides home, at the office. He even put up with Morgan's teasing. Yes the jokes were quite amusing, but to tell the truth he'd love it if Morgan picked on someone else for a change.

To tell the truth small talk wasn't one of his best attributes. He wasn't quite sure what he could say since after all he was technically living under the same roof with one of his co workers. Not to mention he was living in his girlfriend's house with a coworker that loved to tease him. He guessed that could give anyone a loss for words.

He finally decided that simply nodding his head was the best reaction he could make. He finally spoke up nodding at the coffee pot as he managed to make his way over to the refrigerator"help yourself".

Morgan nodded grabbing an empty cup before speaking up "You know I still need too talk to Natalie. I know it's going to be hard on her Reid, but I need to do it soon".

Spencer let out a reluctant sigh as he closed the fridge door. He knew that the sooner she talked and answered questions the better, but still it didn't feel right. After all she wasn't just a victim she was his best friend and recently his girlfriend.

Part of him wondered why this all had to happen now. Yes everything happened for a reason or thats what people said, but it was still completely inconvenient.

"Hey Reid did you hear me"?

Spencer looked up when he heard Morgan say his name again. He blushed realizing he hadn't responded. "Okay fine. I'll go get her".

He reluctantly made his way back towards her bedroom. He frowned slightly as he entered the room. How was it that her room could be so cheerful when she was going through all this?

He sighed sitting down beside her somehow managing to shake her awake. She frowned up at him blurry eyed and still half asleep "What? What is it"?

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he spoke up "Morgan still needs to talk to you"?

"What does he need to talk to me about? Haven't I given them enough for this to all be over"? She stated as she sat up in bed.

He sighed not surprised that she was getting a bit frustrated with this all. After all they hadn't had one not one break in the past week that they'd had this case.

"He needs to ask you some more questions okay". He responded not sure what else he could tell her.

She nodded her head speaking up again "You'll be in the room with me when he asks right"?

He nodded his head without hesitation "Yes of course I will. Now come on I'll find you some clothes.

She nodded her head getting out of bed and brushing her hair as Spencer managed to rummage through her closet pulling out a pair of jeans and a plain short sleeved yellow shirt.

The two somehow managed to make it out to living room before they took a seat on the couch surprised to see that Morgan was already sitting on the recliner across from the sofa.

They were even more surprised to see three cups of coffee sitting out on the coffee table.

"Yes Reid I put a cup and a half of sugar in yours just how you like it. Natalie I wasn't sure how you took your coffee so I left it as is". Morgan stated rolling his eyes slightly.

Natalie nodded her head muttering out a thank you as she sat down beside Spencer.

She picked up her coffee cup frowning at how bitter it was. She guessed that Spencer had made it. She had figured out that he liked his coffee extra strong the second day he'd stayed with her.

She looked up as Morgan finally spoke up "I have some more questions for you".

She nodded her head listening to him continue "I want you to think and think hard about it. Have you seen anyone at all that struck you as strange? Or maybe someone who maybe seemed really eager to talk to you and only you"?

"I wait on a lot of people. Their all eager to see me". She stated putting her coffee cup back on the table in front of her.

Spencer finally spoke up staring over at his girlfriend "This person wouldn't be like your other customers though. They would come in a lot even if their not buying something".

She widened her eyes speaking up "Theres about three people that I know of that do things like that".

"Well do you know their names"? Morgan stated hoping that they were finally getting somewhere with all this.

She sighed running her hands through her tangled hair. "No. I mean I don't know them by name. I can sort of describe them and tell you some of the very few things they did buy from us".

She spoke up again seeing that no one was going to make a response. "Theres this old man that comes in every Sunday. I think his wife died a few years back, but he still comes in because he claims that she loved antiques. He always wants to talk to me, but Mrs. Richards she always said it was because I remind him of his daughter that doesn't visit him or something".

Spencer nodded his head "Can you describe him"?

"Yeah he's short, white hair, clean shaved. He always wears those old ugly light blue suits from the seventies. You know what I'm talking about right"?

Morgan smiled slightly nodding his head "Yeah I know what your talking about. Leisure suits".

She nodded her head continuing "The other guy is about thirty I guess. Pretty clean cut really tall and always dressed really nicely. I mean like gold rolex watches and gold cuffs nice. He comes in and always wants to look at the jewelery. I always get the weird feeling that he's trying to pick me up or something. I mean I figured he was married or something. He kind of freaks me out though. I mean I'm the only one he'll talk to".

Morgan nodded his head thankful he and Spencer were both taking notes of this all.

She sighed as she talked about the last man "This last guys really weird I mean he looks normal and everything. He's attractive, young, dark hair, very clean cut, but He's really never bought anything. I mean he may of bought something from some other sales person, but he's never bought from me. He always wants to talk to me though. He works for some kind of comerical moving company. They've delivered to us a couple of times, but he comes in when he's off work too".

"Do you remember the name of the company? Or maybe his name"? Spencer stated getting a slight sick feeling in his gut.

"No sorry I really don't remember the name of the company. I think his name tag said Alex M. or maybe Adam M. It was something like that". She stated frowning as she tried to remember.

She looked up as she took another sip from her coffee cup "Is that enough"?

Morgan nodded his head as he pulled out his cell phone "Yeah thats more than enough. I'm going to call Garcia and see if I can get her to look at your receipts and see if any of the people match. I'll get her to look into the moving companies and see if she can find an Alex M. or and Adam M".

Natalie nodded her head hoping that this would end soon.


	11. A Late Night Talk and A Missing Dog

**Disclaimer remains the same. **

**Please review.**

Chapter Eleven: A Late Night Talk and A Missing Dog

As they lay in bed that night Spencer tried hard to think of something he could say to relax her. He smiled as he finally thought of something.

He turned around facing her and running his hand under her t shirt across her flat stomach. He finally spoke up barely above a whisper "Hey did you know that the name Natalie comes from a French origin meaning born on Christmas".

She smiled softly placing her hand on top of his as she turned around to face him "Yes Spencer I know you've told me that before".

He raised his eyebrows "When did I tell you that"?

"When we were about sixteen you offered to help me with a French class I was taking in high school for my foreign language credits. You told me what my name meant about three times then". She stated giggling slightly.

He smiled kissing her forehead "I forgot about that".

"I never thought I'd see the day that Dr. Spencer Reid forgot something". She stated smiling teasingly

He rolled his eyes "Hey I don't remember everything despite what you may think".

She kissed his lips softly before speaking up "I don't think you remember everything. You just remember a lot of things. A lot of weird things".

He frowned speaking up sarcastically "Oh thanks that makes me feel so much better".

"Well I don't think your weird or anything like that. You just know a lot. You've known a lot since we were twelve. So it doesn't really surprise me. I mean Morgan did tell me that you like to look up the word death. You have to admit thats a pretty bizarre hobby". She stated raising her eyebrows.

"For your information I've only done that a couple of times when I was bored. I don't do it every single night. What else did Morgan tell you?" He stated as he started to get a the feeling that he might have to kill Morgan.

He knew he shouldn't have left Morgan alone with her while he went to pick up something for dinner.

"A few things. I mean he told me that you can't use chopsticks which I already knew. He told me that you failed your gun qualifications the first time around, but Hotch passed you after you had to shoot and kill some sniper guy. He also told me something about you kissing some actress while you were on a case. I think he said her name was Lila Archer".

He felt his cheeks burn at the mention of Lila Archer. Sure it had only been a one time thing. He had considered trying to have some sort of long distance relationship with her, but in the end it had just been impossible. After all the BAU was so demanding that it was hard to keep relationships especially a long distance one.

He felt his cheeks burn even more as he began to wonder if Natalie was jealous. After all he was pretty sure that most girls didn't like to hear that their boyfriends had once kissed a pretty actress.

He spoke up swallowing the lump in his throat "Does it bother you? I mean the whole Lila Archer thing"?

She ran her hand across his chest before she tilted her head up and kissed his cheek softly "Well to be perfectly honest I'd have to say that it does make me a little jealous. Your my boyfriend so yes it is going to bother me a little to hear about any girl you've kissed before me. But besides the slight jealousy it really doesn't bother me that much. I mean we weren't a couple then, and I'm sure after we lost contact the both of us thought that we'd never see each other again. We thought that our time together would just be a great memory".

He nodded his head knowing she was right. At least she wasn't angry with him. He spoke up again trying to change the subject "Did Morgan tell you anything else"?

"Yeah one thing. He said that you were kidnapped on a case in Georgia, and that you almost died. He said that the guy was drugging you and putting it all up on the Internet.". She stated not sure if she should bring this up. Morgan had seemed to think that she already knew about it.

He frowned feeling slightly angered that Morgan would bring that up behind his back, but then again Morgan probably thought that he'd already told her about it.

He sighed managing to kiss her lips softly before he spoke up "I'm sorry I never told you. I guess I just didn't want you to worry. I mean you've already had to go through so much. It was a really traumatic part of my life. He did drug me and I was addicted for a while. Gideon's the one that found out and he helped me quit. I'm still grateful he never told anyone. I don't even think he told Hotch".

She took his hand off her stomach before lifting it up and kissing his palm "I understand why you didn't tell me. I guess if something like that happed to me then I'd have a hard time talking about it. I want you to know that you can tell me anything though. I love you and I want you to trust me".

She let go of his hand before he wrapped his arm around her managing to pull her even closer to him.

"I do trust you. I trust you with my life and I love you more than anything in the entire world. I never thought I'd be able to have you. I mean when we were kids I thought that you were so out of my league". He stated as his kissed the top of her head

She looked up at him wide eyed before speaking up "I'm the one that thought you were out of my league. I mean you were smart and cute. I didn't really get why girls our age completely ignored you".

He blushed surprised that she had made this comment "I was a freak. I couldn't even talk to girls. I mean it's a miracle I could talk to you without stuttering".

"Spencer Reid you are not a freak. Your an attractive intelligent sweet man and I'm lucky to have you". She stated frowning

He felt his cheeks burn before he leaned over kissing her once agian

She kissed him back before she started to feel her eyes getting heavy. He spoke up as he broke the kiss smiling down at her "Sleepy"?

She nodded not saying anything before she fell into a deep sleep.

He smiled grateful that she had seemed to cheer up since despite the difficult day she'd had. He kissed the top of her head again careful to not wake her up before he fell asleep as well refusing to let go of her.

* * *

Spencer woke up the next morning to music. He frowned refusing to open his eyes. He couldn't really be hearing music. This had to be a dream.

He opened his eyes prepared to ask Natalie if she heard music too. He frowned when he discovered that he was in bed alone.

He raised his eyebrows as he entered the living room. He could clearly see that Natalie and Morgan were both wide awake and standing in the kitchenette. To make it even more of a strange moment they were both singing along to some horrible pop song from the eighties that was playing loudly on the radio.

He sort of wished he had a camera right now because it was the only way he was going to prove to Garcia or anyone else that he'd seen Morgan doing this.

He somehow managed to make his way to the kitchenette before Natalie spotted him. She walked over to him kissing him softly before speaking up "Your up just in time we were about to make some chocolate chip pancakes".

He smiled slightly wishing he had a camera even more now. He kissed her lips deciding he didn't care if Morgan was watching them. "Sounds good. Is there anything I can do"?

She nodded her head pointing over to the dog food bag "Yeah you could feed Cookie. Her food bowel is outside".

He nodded his head knowing that her dog wasn't one of his favorite things especially when it barked at him, but if she told him to do it he'd do it.

He managed to get a scoop of dog food before he went out back making his way over to the bowel. He frowned when he noticed something odd.

Cookie was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't laying on the porch begging to come in. She hadn't barked at him and scared him half to death when he'd come outside, and she wasn't in her little white igloo shaped doghouse.

She was gone. Whoever was stalking Natalie had taken the dog to punish her.


	12. What Garcia Finds

**Disclaimer remains the same**

**I rewrote this because the original didn't seem to make much sense. I hope this one is much more enjoyable. Please review**

Chapter Twelve rewritten: What Garcia Finds

Penelope Garcia sat in her slightly cramped computer filled office as she attempted to sort through all the receipts Morgan had given her. She could tell that the antique store definitely didn't know how to keep anything in order. The receipt records she'd been given were a complete and total mess.

She raised her eyebrows as the phone rang. She answered it grinning as Morgan spoke up "Hey baby girl have you sorted through all those receipts yet"?

She rolled her eyes "Cupcake are you kidding me. These people seriously didn't know how to keep records, but I did get a chance to run some of those names you've given me".

Morgan nodded his head speaking up "And what did you find? He's getting worst. He took her dog this morning".

"Well the old guys name is Vincent Avery. He's completely harmless not even a speeding ticket. He's a retired English teacher who lives by himself. He has one deceased wife and a daughter who lives halfway across the country". She stated sighing

"Okay and what about the other two guys"? Morgan stated hoping that she'd found something

"The second guys name is Peter Andrews. He's a very successful real estate dealer. He's also a complete sleaze if he was trying to pick Natalie up, considering he's married with a pregnant wife. I am having a bit of trouble with the last name you gave me though".

Morgan let out an annoyed sigh "Oh don't tell me that".

She giggled slightly before speaking up "Sorry hot stuff, but there seems to be a large number of Alex and Adam Matthews working for commercial movers. I promise I will call you if I get something though".

* * *

Natalie glanced up as she saw Morgan get off his cell phone. He glanced over at Spencer before speaking up "Garcia's still sorting through those receipts and she says she'll call when she gets something. I'm going to call Gideon and give him a run through of whats going on".

Natalie frowned feeling a slight wave of disappointment wash over her as she heard this. She had been shocked when Spencer had told her that Cookie was missing. He had told her that her stalker was doing this as a way to punish her. He had said that her stalker saw her as a possession and he didn't want to share her with anything or anyone.

She felt sick. She was more than ready for her life to just go back to normal, but then again she knew her life would never be quite the same again.

Spencer glanced over at Natalie speaking up "Its going to be okay".

She nodded her head not quite believing him. She stared down at the pancake that she'd just taken off the frying pan. She no longer felt that hungry.

Spencer spoke up swallowing the lump in his throat before he spoke up "Have you told your dad whats going on"?

She raised her eyebrows feeling anxious at the thought of telling her family "No. I mean I can't tell him. He didn't want me to move to Washington in the first place. He said it was too far away, and he's so protective of me. I know it would crush him if he found out that something like this was happening and he couldn't protect me".

He nodded his head understanding.

She was her father's youngest child and his only daughter so he guessed he could see why it might be hard for her to tell him what was going on.

He walked into the kitcnette and hugged her gently. She let herself sink into the hug truly enjoying the comfort. She looked up at him before speaking up "I'll tell my dad someday. I mean when the times right".

He nodded his head kissing her cheek "I understand. I wont push you into telling them if your family if your not ready".

"What are we supposed to do while were waiting for Garcia to find something"? Natalie stated as pulled away from his hug and started to put the food away.

She was pretty sure that no one felt like chocolate chip pancakes right now.

Spencer bit his bottom lip speaking up as he made an attempt to help her "The only thing we can do wait".

* * *

Garcia frowned as she scrolled through all the Alex or Adam Matthew's that were listed as working for the same moving company that had delivered everything to Natalie's work.

She clicked on yet another name. She raised her eyebrows surprised by what she saw. A criminal record that was a bit incriminating wasn't it. She clicked to look into the record thanking her lucky stars that it hadn't been sealed.

She widened her eyes as she read it. This was it.

Morgan frowned when his phone rang once again. He'd just hung up with Gideon.

He widened his eyes as Garcia spoke up sounding quite proud of herself "I think we may have a winner. Alex Matthews twenty six years old. He lives by himself and doesn't appear to have much of a social life. Trust me It doesn't look like anyone but bill collectors call this guy. He does have some pretty extravagant spending habits though. He's ordered plenty of women's clothing from catalogs, and plenty of other items that are identical to everything Natalie's received".

She paused taking in a deep breath before speaking up again "The most interesting thing is the criminal record I found on this guy. It appears that he had an ex girlfriend that he had a tendency to stalk in college. The creepy thing is this girl looks a lot like Natalie".

Morgan smiled hearing this. "Thanks princess your the best ".

He hung up the phone before looking at Spencer and Natalie who had both finally quit cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. "We've got something".


	13. An Open Window

**Disclaimer remains the same as always.**

**Please do review.**

Chapter Thirteen: An Open Window

Natalie raised her eyebrows as she saw Morgan get off his phone once again. He looked as though he wanted to punch something.

Morgan looked down at Spencer and Natalie whom were both sitting on the sofa staring at him expectantly. He finally spoke up through gritted teeth "That was Gideon, they went to Alex Matthews place and he's not there. His landlord says he hasn't been there for weeks and he's late on rent. This is just another setback".

Spencer sighed silently agreeing with him. It seemed like anytime that it seemed like they were getting somewhere something happened to set them back a little farther.

Natalie spoke up feeling her stomach drop a little bit more "Well what do we do"?

Spencer glanced over at his girlfriend before taking her hand in his and speaking up "We have to wait".

Morgan nodded his head in a agreement as he spoke up "Yeah and besides their searching all the places that Alex Matthews hangs out. He has to be in one of those places".

Natalie nodded her head feeling a bit ill. This man had already murdered someone so who knew what he would do if he got to her or any one of them. She wasn't sure if she could take it if someone else got hurt because of this because of her.

Yes Spencer had tried to tell her several times that none of this was her fault, but it still didn't convince her. She really didn't care what he said about statistics or how many facts he tried to give her about stalkers. It wouldn't stop her from carrying some guilt about all that had happened.

She let go of Spencer's hand as she stood up noticing that her throat felt quite dry. She spoke up sighing not really sure what else she could do. It was getting late it was almost eleven o clock now, and they had spent all day worrying about this and trying to figure everything out. "I guess I'm going to bed".

Spencer nodded his head as he watched her disappear towards the back of the house "Okay I'll be to bed soon".

She made her way to the bathroom first. She frowned noticing how hot it was. Yes she knew it was the time of the year when it was just starting to get a bit cold out so it really couldn't be all that hot. Spencer had started to tease her about how she was always hot when everyone else was freezing. He said that her body temperature must be off.

She reached up managing to crack the window in hopes that it would help cool it off a little. She was sure that it would be closed once Morgan or Spencer discovered it. She managed to splash some cool water on her face washing the very little makeup she wore off her face.

She pulled her hair back into a slightly messy bun as she made her way towards her bedroom and changed into her pajamas feeling more than ready to get some sleep.

* * *

Natalie woke up sometime early in the morning. It must have been extremely early considering from what she could see through her curtains it was still very dark out.

She rolled over in bed seeing that Spencer was apparently in a deep sleep and he seemed to be muttering something about a broken coffee pot under his breath. She smiled and rolled her eyes slightly leave it up to her boyfriend to have dreams about coffee.

She sat up attempting to get out of bed without waking her sleeping boyfriend. She made her way to the bathroom turning on the light and frowning at what she saw. The window was open much wider than she'd opened it. She didn't think that Spencer or Morgan would have done it.

She quickly made her way back to the bedroom climbing onto her side of the bed and speaking up hesitantly "Spence wake up. I think theres something wrong".

He frowned rolling over putting his back to her keeping his eyes still clamped shut. She reached down and shook him slightly feeling a little bad about waking him, but something just didn't feel right.

He finally woke up giving her an annoyed look "Natalie what are you doing"?

"Did you or Morgan do anything to that window in the the bathroom". She stated ignoring the fact that he was looking at her like she'd sprouted another head.

He sat up in bed sighing "No we left it cracked like you had it. Why"?

She felt bile rise up in her throat before she spoke up "I think someones in this house".

He widened his eyes before he spoke up "Okay. Hold on".

He got out of bed thankfully not falling since the bedsheets were wrapped around his legs. He made his way over to his ready bag pulling out his gun. "I need to go get Morgan".

She spoke up barely above a whisper "Do I stay here"?

He sighed thinking about if for a minute "No just stay close to me".

She nodded her head getting out of bed and standing as close to him as she possibly could.

They left the bedroom and started to wonder down the dark hallway towards the guest room. Spencer knocked on the door frowning when he got no answer. He knocked harder before finally opening the door seeing that Morgan seemed to be asleep.

He walked over to the the bed while making sure that Natalie was still close beside him. She was practically touching him the way she was following him.

He reached down and touched Morgan's shoulder as he made a hesitant attempt to wake him up. He frowned feeling ill when nothing happened.

He jumped slightly when he heard a low male voice speak up from somewhere in the room "I had to give him something to knock him out for a little while. It's not going to hurt him well I hope I'm not exactly good with measuring out shots. I didn't want him to interrupt us".

He frowned turning around behind him and pointing his gun towards the voice before it spoke up again "Now I wouldn't do that if I were you. We don't want something to go wrong and we don't want Natalie to get hurt".

Natalie felt bile rise up in her throat as soon as a the light switch came on. Standing at the doorway was Alex Matthews and he had a gun.


	14. And All She Heard Were Gunshots

**Disclaimer remains the same**

**Please review.**

Chapter Fourteen: And All She Heard Were Gunshots

The three of them stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Natalie felt her stomach plummet as Alex Matthews finally spoke up "I think we need to take this to the living room. We're all going to have a nice little chat.

She gave Spencer a panicked look as Alex Matthews came up behind him pressing the gun to his back "Natalie leads the way. You follow her and don't even think about trying anything funny".

Spencer gripped onto his own gun tighter refusing to even try to let go of it. He glanced over at Natalie trying to somehow reassure her that it would be okay. Though he wasn't that sure that it was going to be okay.

Morgan obviously wasn't going to be any help to them right now considering he was still completely out. They were all alone in this.

He unwillingly started to move his feet following Natalie towards her living room.

He flinched as Alex roughly nudged him in the back with the gun "Sit down on the couch".

He did as he was told before Alex spoke up looking at Natalie "You too princess. Sit beside him. I think we need to talk about us".

She sat down beside Spencer trying to get as close to him as possible. She felt like she was going to vomit. She could feel her skin crawling at the way he'd said the word princess.

Alex stood in front of them as he looked down at them. He nodded his head down at Spencer's gun "Don't even think about trying to use that thing. You move and I'll kill her, and I know neither one of us wants that".

"Then let her go. If you don't want to hurt her let her go. We can talk about this man to man. I mean this is because of me right? I took her from you". Spencer stated hoping that he could just get Natalie out of the room. Maybe they'd have a shot at making it out of this alive if he got her away from any danger.

Alex raised his eyebrows looking as though he was thinking about what Spencer had just said. "Yes I do suppose thats an option. I mean you did take her from me, but to tell the truth I'm thinking she might of wanted you to take her".

Spencer felt his stomach sink. Alex wasn't falling for it.

Natalie frowned trying to remember everything Spencer had told her to do in a situation like this. Play along and don't let him get angry. Those were the only things she could really remember right now.

Alex sighed reaching down with the hand that wasn't holding the gun. He ran his hand through her hair causing her to want to inch back or at least slap his hand away. "Why did you dye your hair? You know I really preferred the brown more".

She swallowed the lump in her throat hoping she sounded convincing before she managed to look up at him. If she was going to have to play along to get them out of this than so be it. "I thought that you'd like it. I'm sorry".

He raised his eyebrows looking surprised that she'd responded to him. "Thats okay princess thats what they make hair dye for. I'm afraid I have to apologize for some things I've done as well".

She looked down not wanting to meet his eyes. He sighed speaking up again "I didn't want to have to kill your boss, but I had to do it. I had to show you that you couldn't kiss another man and get away with it. I hope that you've learned your lesson".

She nodded her head not saying anything. He ran his hand through her hair again before speaking up "Thats a good girl. I'm afraid I have to apologize for what happened to your dog as well. I didn't mean to kill her. I just wanted to pet her. I always see you out walking your dog and you look so happy. I just wanted to see what made you so happy".

"It's okay. I forgive you". She managed to choke out feeling her stomach churn.

He smiled nodding his head before he walked across the room managing to take a seat on her recliner. "Get up princess. I want you to take a seat over there on the floor".

She gave Spencer a worried look before she reluctantly got up from the sofa sitting down on the floor beside her bookcase.

Spencer felt his palms start to sweat as Alex spoke up smiling over at Natalie "Now what do we do about him huh? I mean I can't have him touching what belongs to me without suffering for it".

"Don't hurt him please". Natalie stated feeling even more sick when she noticed the angered look Alex gave her.

He spoke up raising his eyebrows "Why not? I mean what is so special about him"?

She turned her eyes towards Spencer. She knew why. She loved him. She couldn't play along if it meant he'd get hurt.

He shook his head frowning "I don't see anything that wonderful when I look at him. He's skinny and look at how he dresses. He wears sweater vests. He's a dork. Whats so special huh? What makes you want to kiss on him and give him all your attention? Answer me".

"I love him". She whispered staring down at the floor.

Alex gripped his gun tighter making his knuckles turn white "I guess it serves me right. For spoiling you the way I do. I mean you could of at least once worn something I bought you. I should have known better than to shower you with gifts. Your completely ungrateful you know that"?

"I'm sorry". She stated hoping she could distract him long enough for Spencer to do something.

He shook his head smiling "Oh no princess. I don't think your going to talk your way out of it this time".

He paused standing up from the recliner before he pointed his gun at Spencer "Stand up now".

Spencer did as he was told before Alex spoke up "Well if you love him then I guess I'm going to have to punish your for that too".

Both of the men raised their guns before Natalie buried her head into her hands not feeling able to watch.

All she heard were two very loud gunshots. She felt hot tears stream down her face as she finally worked up the nerve to look up.

The first thing she saw was Alex Matthews laying slumped down into the recliner. He was obviously dead. Spencer had shot him in the head.

She turned her eyes away from him. It didn't look anything like it looked in the movies.

She automatically got up heading towards Spencer.

He was clutching his shoulder with a pained look on his face.

He fell down to his knees when she made it to him. She spoke up feeling the tears fall even harder now. "Your okay. It's okay".

He nodded his head before he managed to speak up "Call an ambulance tell them whats happened. Then call Gideon his numbers programed into my cell phone. Tell him what happened".

She nodded her head managing to make it over to his cell phone before she quickly dialed 911 thankfully getting through.

She finally hung up the phone after she got through explaining everything to Gideon.

She made it back over to Spencer. She moved his head over making him lay it in her lap. She started to run her hand across his sweaty forehead before she spoke up "It's okay. I called an ambulance and I called Gideon too. It's going to be alright I promise".


	15. Waiting Rooms And Promises

**The Disclaimer will always remain the same.**

**Please review.**

Chapter Fifteen: Waiting rooms and Promises

Natalie stared straight down at the pale tiled floor as she sat in the waiting room. She was unbelievably tired, but she couldn't make herself even attempt to sleep.

The doctor had come out an hour ago and told them that the bullet was still lodged in Spencer's shoulder and he was going to have to have an emergency surgery to remove it. Thankfully the bullet hadn't hit a bone or anything like that so it should all be okay.

Morgan's doctor had already come out and informed them that he'd woken up. He was going to have to be kept over night for observation though. Mainly because they had no idea what kind of drugs he'd been injected with.

She had already gone to see him along with the members of his team. They'd had to tell him what had happened to Spencer which had made him make an attempt to get out of bed. Gideon had calmed him down enough to convince him that he should stay in bed and that they really would tell him if anything major happened.

She was more than a little nervous about Spencer's surgery. Yes she knew that it wasn't really a major operation, but it still bothered her. She had thought that she'd lost him when the guns had been fired. It didn't help that he'd passed out shortly before the ambulance had arrived. The paramedics said it was from minor blood loss, but it had still frightened her.

She guessed it was because she knew how much he disliked hospitals. She didn't blame him after all he'd spent most of his childhood escorting his mother back and forth from hospitals until she'd started refusing to leave the house.

She frowned when she noticed the dried blood stain on her yellow pajama pants. She hadn't even gotten dressed before she'd headed for the hospital. She'd just shoved on a pair of black flip flops with her pajamas and went with Gideon and the others.

She had wanted to go in the ambulance with Spencer, but the paramedics had refused to let her. She had argued with them until Gideon had finally convinced her that it would be best if she just got a ride with him.

She practically knocked the chair down standing up as the doctor that had given them the news earlier entered the room.

He spoke up pushing his thin glasses up "Is there anyone from Mr. Reid's family here"?

"Doctor Reid". Gideon automatically stated causing the doctor to frown.

He spoke up again sighing "Dr. Reid. Is his family here"?

Natalie swallowed the lump in her throat as she spoke up "He doesn't have anyone. His mothers in a hospital and he doesn't know where his father is. We're all he has".

He nodded his head raising his eyebrows slightly "And you are his girlfriend correct"?

She nodded her head as he spoke up again "Can I talk to you in private"?

"Whatever it is I want you to just tell me here". She stated fearing the worst.

He nodded his head speaking up again "Dr. Reid is a very lucky man. We were able to remove the bullet without any problems. He is going to have a small scar from the procedure though. I'm going to want to keep him for a few days just to make sure that he doesn't have any problems. He's refusing pain killers so the best I can give him is some low dose Tylenol".

Natalie let out a sigh of relief hearing the same relieved sound come from the others. "May we see him"?

"Well he's in recovery right now so he's only allowed one visitor at a time. He should be allowed more once we get him to an actual room. I do have to warn you though that he may be a little loopy from the operation". He stated

She turned to look at his team members. She was sure that they would want to see him first. She raised her eyebrows as Gideon spoke up "You can go. We'll all come by tomorrow to see him. We'll see about getting the two of you a change of clothes".

She nodded her head thankful that she wouldn't have to wait to see him. She looked back up at the doctor before he motioned for one of the nurses to come lead her to Spencer's room.

She felt her stomach plummet slightly as she entered the room. Yes she knew he'd look a little bad, but she hadn't really been all that prepared for the sight of him.

Spencer had a few tubes attached to him. There was a heart monitor attached to him, an IV attached to his right arm, and an oxygen tube running up to his nose. He was in a hospital gown and she could clearly see that his shoulder was bandaged up.

He spoke up as he saw the look on her face. "Its really not as bad as it looks".

She bit her bottom lip going over to the right side of the bed before taking his hand in hers. She looked around the room.

She was starting to wonder why all hospital rooms seemed to look like this. The walls were a blinding shade of white. There was a chair beside the bed which looked very uncomfortable. The windows had closed white blinds over them, and the only light that seemed to be on was a dimmed one over his bed.

He finally spoke up squeezing her hand "Get in bed with me".

"Spence I can't do that. What if I hurt your shoulder"? She stated raising her eyebrows.

He rolled his eyes speaking up "You wont. Your not going to get in on the side that I was shot in. Come on please".

She frowned pulling down the railing on the bed before timidly climbing in beside him. "Fine but if a nurse comes in here and gets mad at me I'm going to tell her that your the one that talked me in to this".

He shook his head slightly as she hesitantly laid her head down on his chest. "Hows Morgan"?

"Good. He's awake and their keeping him over night". She stated

He nodded his head speaking up "Thats good".

"They said your refusing painkilers"? She stated bitting her bottom lip.

He nodded his head sighing "Yeah I thought that I should. I mean with the whole dilaudid thing...I just didn't want to take any chances".

She nodded her head before she finally spoke up after a few minutes of silence "I thought that I lost you".

"Me too, but it's going to be better now. I promise it is". He stated wanting to truly convince her that it would.

She nodded her head "I know. I'm going to stay with you okay"?

"Stay with me in the hospital or stay at my apartment"? He stated

She sighed staring down at the print of his hospital gown. What if he didn't want her to stay with him? "I was thinking both actually. I mean I don't want to go back to my place. Especially after what happened there".

He nodded his head understanding "Does this mean were technically moving in together"?

She smiled looking up at him "If you want it. I mean Spence in case you haven't noticed we've been living together for three weeks now. Making it official wouldn't hurt".

He returned her smile already knowing his answer. He wanted it.

--

**Story to be continued in A Fresh Start**


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